Only He
by Muldoon22
Summary: Natasha observes the things only Steve had the power to do.


Natasha finds herself looking at her teammates piddle around the living room/kitchen of Stark Tower. She looked at Tony, wrestling with Clint for the remote. She looked at Bruce sipping his tea, rolling his eyes at the two fight. She looked at Thor place pop tarts into the toaster and wait for them to pop back up. And finally, she looked at Steve, sitting at the kitchen island, reading a magazine. He looked up and their eyes met. He smiled at her. She smiled back before immediately making it disappear. None of the others had ever seen her smile the way she just did. Only Steve could do that.

In fact, Steve was the only one to see or make or get to do to her do a lot of things the others couldn't.

* * *

Only he could comfort her and make her feel special. She returned from a mission that drained her emotionally. Clint placed a hand on her shoulder and told her she was alright, but she didn't believe it. Tony surprisingly attempted to as well, with Bruce to comfort her, but nothing worked. Thor imitated Clint's attempt by placing both hands on her shoulders. "Lady Natasha, whatever may be bothering you, I assure you it will pass." She sighed and thanked him, but still felt empty. As she passed through the halls, Steve walked to her. They stopped in front of one another and Steve looked her over. He held open his arms and she walked into them, wrapping her arms around his waist and silently sobbing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and repeated over and over "It's alright."

Only he had the ability to talk her into doing something she hated. "No." she flatly said. Red, it's for the mission." Tony said. "I don't care, I'm not wearing this whore dress." Clint sighed. "We know you're not a whore, but we need Yusuf to think you are. If not, we don't get the files." She shook her head. "Exactly. He'll try to screw me. Nothing you can say will change my mind." Clint and Tony sighed. "Natasha." Steve said. She looked at him. "You have your pride, something you earned. Something you deserve. Without those files, we don't find out where Mandarin plans to strike next. And if he tries to do anything funny with you, I'll be inside with you. I'll keep you safe and pure." She looked at him, noting the sincerity in his eyes. She slowly nodded. "Alright. But you all owe me huge." They nodded and she had Steve follow her. "You don't." He smiled slightly and they went into the club.

Only he was allowed to call her "Little Firecracker". The group had been slowly stapling nicknames to one another, ones that would be used by everyone. Tony labelled Steve "Spangles". Clint was declared "Katniss" or the occasional "Legolas". Tony was "Metalhead", which he loathed. Thor, since Tony figured his accent was close to Australian, was marked "Thundah from Down Undah, which made everyone laugh as it turned out that was the name of a male strip club in Australia. And Bruce was "Green Giant", but it wasn't said to his face. He warned if anyone did, the "Green Giant" would come out. Tony and Clint scratched their heads over what would Natasha be. She said over and over if they gave her one, she'd send them to their graves. They tested "Red" and "Natashalie", but the others never went for it. Finally one day the group were sitting down to dinner when Tony brought up the nickname situation. "Anyone have an idea as to what Agent Romanoff's nickname should be?" "Shut it, Stark." she replied. "Feisty." he mocked. Clint joined in. "I think, and this is coming from knowing her awhile, it should be dance related. Did she tell you she was a ballerina?" Natasha glared at him. "I swear to you all right now, if you give me a nickname involving dancing, or any nickname of any kind, i'll break you. Maybe not Bruce, or Steve. Or even Thor, as they're not trying, but you two," she said, pointing to Clint and Tony, "I will take you both and bury you where no one will find you." The room fell silent, with Clint and Tony looking a bit shaken. "Well, you certainly made those two shut up. Little Firecracker." Steve said. She turned to him. He winked at her and got up to get some water. She blushed. She was blushing. "Did Spangles not only give her a nickname and live, but make her blush as well?" Tony asked. "At least we have her nickname now." Clint said. She turned back to them. "An addendum: if anyone but Steve calls me that-". "You'll kill us. We get it." Clint sighed. "Back to the drawing board, Stark." Natasha got up to get some water as well and smiled to herself. Something about Steve calling her Little Firecracker made her feel...giddy.

And finally, only he was allowed in her bed. He was her boyfriend after all. Only, it was their little secret. The night they got together, she inadvertently got out on Steve's floor, late at night. It didn't really clue into her until she opened his bedroom door and saw him laying there. "Oh." she said. He looked up at her. "Nat?" he asked, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "What's up?" She licked her lips, a bit embarrassed. "I apologize, Steve, I thought this was my floor." "It's alright, it's an honest mistake." She noticed the sadness. "Are you ok?" she asked, concern in her voice. "Yeah, I'm just having another dumb nightmare. You're actually the only person I've seen all day." Dumb nightmare? she thought to herself. "You're still struggling to cope, aren't you?" She saw him sit up. "I just... I just get lonely a lot. It's hard not having anyone close to you." She felt her heart ache for him. "Do you want some company for tonight?" He shook his head. "You don't have to go out of your way for me, Nat." She also shook her head. "I want to, Steve. You're a great man, you should have someone to keep you company. I insist." she said, kicking off her shoes. He nodded in agreement as she took off her yellow jacket. She removed her shirt, leaving only a sports bra and went over to Steve's bed. She pulled the covers and slipped in, sliding close to Steve. She hesitated for a moment before putting her arm around him. He took her hand and stroked it gently. "Thank you." he whispered. She nudged him to turn around and he did. Her arm was on his upward side. "Anytime." she replied and kissed him. Since then, she would go to his room and spend the night with him. They began dating a week later.

* * *

He was still smiling at her. And she finally returned it, not caring if the others saw. She still didn't want them to know about their relationship, but it didn't matter. Only to her. Only to he.

_fin_


End file.
